Former Huddersfield Giants powerhouse tied down by ambitious Championship club ahead of 2025

Ten-time Tonga international Ukuma Ta’ai will turn 38 in January, but has penned a deal to go around again with Championship club York in 2025!

Nuku’alofa native Ta’ai will enter his third successive season at the LNER Community Stadium having first joined York in 2023, making 47 appearances for the second tier outfit to date.

Prior, he’d spent a couple of years with Newcastle Thunder after eight seasons in Super League at Huddersfield Giants.

The veteran forward – who stands at 6’1″ and weighs over 16 stone – has made a total of 277 appearances in the British game thus far, scoring 66 tries in the process.

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Former Huddersfield Giants powerhouse tied down by ambitious Championship club ahead of 2025

Winning the Super League Leaders’ Shield with Huddersfield back in 2013, his first year in the UK, he’d already played 52 games in the NRL for New Zealand Warriors.

Ta’ai – whose international bow came 15 years ago in 2009 against New Zealand – contributed to a York side that finished 4th in the Championship in 2024 before being beaten in the play-off semi-finals by eventual champions Wakefield Trinity at Belle Vue.

After Ta’ai penned his deal in North Yorkshire for 2025, Knights head coach Mark Applegarth said: “I’m really glad Ukuma is over the line.

“He’s a father figure of that forward group, not only for what he brings on the field but he’s a very good mentor to the players off it.

“It’s not only with his rugby league experience but with how he lives his life and the values he upholds.

“He’s a really fantastic re-signing for York and he’ll add a lot to not only the playing ability of the squad but the culture away from the rugby as well.”

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